The Win Wasn't Particularly Pretty, but Right Now, Jets Are Best NFL Team in New York

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—An NFL season is a long and unpredictable thing. The Jets have gone 44 years without winning a Super Bowl, so their seasons tend to be longer and more predictable than most. But after fending off the Buffalo Bills 27-20 on Sunday here at MetLife Stadium, after another preseason in which they served as a ready-made punch line, they can take solace in one undeniable truth: At the moment, they are the best football team in New York*.

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Geno Smith spikes the ball after scoring on an eight-yard run in the first quarter of the Jets' 27-20 win over Buffalo on Sunday.
Getty Images

(*We're talking about pro football here. Fordham, after all, is 4-0. Fordham!)

Six hundred fifty miles south of here, the Giants—winners of two Super Bowls in the last six years, the staid and stable and ever-consistent Giants—spent the afternoon tripping over their own feet in a blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers, falling to 0-3. In comparison, so far the Jets, at 2-1, appear a model of sound, efficient football.

Truth be told, they were far from such a model on Sunday. Amid two bungled replay challenges by coach Rex Ryan, 20 total penalties (including three inexcusable fouls by cornerback Kyle Wilson) and a few breakdowns in pass coverage, they tossed away a 14-point second-half lead only to take control of the game again with a single stunning sequence: Rookie quarterback Geno Smith lofted a 69-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Santonio Holmes with nine minutes, 23 seconds left in regulation.

The touchdown was the highlight of a brilliant game for Holmes, who missed the final 12 games last season because of a displaced bone in his left foot. He had five catches for 154 yards Sunday, demonstrating that he has recovered from the injury that once seemed to threaten his career with the Jets—though Holmes had said last week that he was still not at 100%.

"This is the NFL," he had said. "There should be no excuses to be made for anybody."

BUF 20

NYJ 27

If nothing is easy for the Jets, the first 45 minutes of Sunday's game were as trouble-free as anyone could hope. Smith, in his third career game, led a 12-play, 84-yard touchdown march on their first possession, dashing up the middle for an eight-yard sneak to finish it off. After the Bills trimmed the lead to 7-6, Smith stuck to a daring (reckless?) game plan by offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and continued to throw deep.

Seven minutes before halftime, he took a hellacious hit from Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams but held his ground long enough to find Stephen Hill for a 51-yard touchdown. Nick Folk then drilled a 47-yard field goal on the final play of the half. The Jets led 17-6 at the break.

When Folk added another field goal, this one from 34 yards out, the Jets had a two-touchdown lead that felt like a 20-touchdown lead, given how their defense was playing. Ahead of Sunday, Bills rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel had posted a gaudy 68.2 completion percentage and led Buffalo to a comeback victory over the Panthers in Week 2. Yet Jets coach Rex Ryan and his defense confused and manhandled Manuel for most of the game, limiting him to 18 completions in 39 attempts Sunday and sacking him eight times.

The Jets' excellent defensive performance was essential. They lost Chris Ivory, their No. 1 running back, in the first quarter to a left hamstring injury, and Smith continued to balance his flashes of promise with a flurry of mistakes.

Tailback Bilal Powell helped mitigate Ivory's absence, rushing for a career-high 149 yards on 27 carries, but Smith was spectacular and exasperating in equal measure. He passed for 331 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions that allowed the Bills to start drives deep in Jets territory. He was fortunate that the Jets held Buffalo to a field goal each time.

That succession of defensive stands stopped early in the fourth quarter, though. Trailing 20-12 and aided by Wilson's three penalties, two of which were 15-yard personal fouls, the Bills zipped 80 yards in less than three minutes, as Manuel connected with tight end Scott Chandler on a 33-yard touchdown with 10:39 to go.

Manuel then completed a pass to wide receiver Stevie Johnson in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversation, tying the game at 20. A nervous energy buzzed throughout MetLife Stadium, but only for so long. Four plays later, Smith looked downfield and saw Holmes, and he did not hesitate.

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